The invention relates to a mounting rack for aircraft, which has one or more rows, which are located one above the other, each having one or more compartments, which are located alongside one another, for holding electronics units, with a compartment being designed for independent insertion and withdrawal of an electronics unit. A compartment in each case has an associated first electrical plug connector, such that the first plug connector can interact with the corresponding second plug connector of an electronics unit solely as a result of the insertion of the electronics unit into the compartment.
A mounting rack such as this is provided, for example, in what is referred to as the E/E area of the aircraft underneath the cock-pit, and is used for accommodating electronics units (which are referred to as LRUs, line replaceable units). There are a number of specifications (for example ARINC, Lufthansa Technik XXL) in existence for electronics units and mounting racks. It is known for the first electrical plug connector to be provided on an L-shaped component, the so-called tray, with the tray being formed from a base part and rear part. The first plug connector is part of an adapter which is incorporated into the rear wall. In use, the tray is firmly connected to the base of a compartment of the mounting rack. At the rear, the adapter is connected to the corresponding connecting lines. The interior of the tray, that is to say the cuboid volume defined by the L-shape is designed to accommodate an electronics unit. On its rear face, this electronics unit has a corresponding second plug connector. The first plug connector is arranged such that the electrical connection is produced solely as a result of the electronics unit being inserted into the compartment, without any additional action being required. This allows the electronics units to be replaced in the shortest possible time. The electronics units are housed in the mounting rack by locking devices (so-called hold downs). The configuration of the tray as a separate component allows it to be disconnected with the adapter from the mounting rack, and the tray to be replaced by another. This may, for example, be necessary when the adapter is defective.
Mounting racks with a specific overall size are known, for example, from U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,871,457 and 5,441,337. Two or more electronics units which may have different height or width dimensions may be inserted into these known mounting racks. The internal subdivision of the mounting rack can be changed for matching to the different dimensions. No provision is made for matching of the external dimensions.
Furthermore, mounting racks are known in which inserts with a fixed width can be inserted (for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,337). These normally have a width of 19 inches (so-called 19-inch racks). The inserts for such mounting racks likewise in a corresponding manner have a fixed width, normally of 19 inches. Insert for a 19-inch rack are known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,598, EP-A-0 560 067 and DE-A-3409022. Single rails are arranged in the inserts, in order to accommodate electronics boards. These so-called 19-inch systems have the disadvantage that they offer flexibility only with respect to the subdivision of the interior. The external dimensions are governed by the rack itself and cannot retrospectively be modified or adapted. Even if the 19-inch rack is constructed from individual elements, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,337, there is no provision for individual elements to be replaced in the installed state. Matching to different installation conditions is thus impossible, or is feasible only with difficulty.
Housing systems for accommodating inserts, in which an electrical plug connection is produced automatically during insertion of the insert, are already known per se (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,977,532 and 4,967,311). However, these likewise have fixed dimensions and it is thus impossible to match them to different installation conditions.
The known mounting racks must therefore be designed from the start to correspond to the respective installation conditions in the aircraft type. A specific mounting rack is therefore also required for each different aircraft type. This is costly in terms of manufacture and storage.